Wow. I forgot how amazing Tatum O’Neal was as an actress when she was a kid. She is so damn good in here. There is a way she has about articulating her words that they feel really lived in. Chris Barnes as Tanner is really the best kid after her and says the funniest things with the best voice. I really like how the writer, Bill Lancaster, treats Buttermaker as a character. I kept expecting him to be mean to the kids in the beginning, like Emilio Estevez in THE MIGHTY DUCKS, but he is really on board to be kind and stick up for these kids. It conflicts with other characters in past films who are drunks and it so nice and refreshing to see. This film also wastes no time with exposition. Walter Matthau really fits into him well. It’s so interesting seeing Jackie Earl Haley as a kid. I totally forgot he was even in this. I really need to explore more of his early work. The use of the opera Carmen for the music just works, but I don’t understand why. It plays similar to CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM using Luciano Michelini’s “Frolic” and IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA using Heinz Kiessling's '“Temptation Sensation'“. I’d love to know how that idea originated. I feel like we missed the 1st act where the kids were denied playing and then the lawsuit happens, but that’s what’s great about this film. It ditches how we got here in favor for playing baseball and having a great time. It really goes to show how quickly you can condense huge parts of a film and not lose story. The ending of the films is just joyous. There is a real moment where the pin drops and your heart sinks, but after that, when everyone gets a chance to play, it is so jubilant that my heart could barely contain it. I really didn’t expect for this to leave me feeling so optimistic and full of smiles.
